The present invention relates generally to money transfer transactions. More specifically, the present invention relates to confirming the validity of identifications presented by persons involved in money transfers.
Many people use the services of money transfer service providers to send funds to other people or purchase negotiable instruments such as money orders and travelers checks. Electronic communication and financial services networks now allow such transactions to have a nearly global reach. Unfortunately, some people use the services of money transfer service providers to transfer money for illegal or unethical purposes. Regulations attempt to thwart this type of activity by requiring positive identification of individuals involved in certain transactions, such as, for example, transactions above an established value threshold. Positive identification is generally established through the use of an identification card (e.g., a driver's license) of some sort. Because of the myriad forms of identification cards in common use and the potential that some individuals may present false identification in an attempt to avoid providing positive identification, systems and methods are needed for confirming the validity of identifications.